Jolly's Cosmeston Tenancy Covering Letter

Cosmeston Community Farm Proposal
Maddau ni bo dydi Cymraeg i ddim yn digon da i yscrifeni hwn, a does gen i ddim digon amser i cyfieithu fo.

We, Jonathan Hughes and Holly Tomlinson, have submitted an offer of £10,000/year for Lot 2 of Land near Cosmeston (Swanbridge Farmland), in response to the Welsh  Government tender. We believe that what we are offering is likely to be the best value for Wales. This covering letter explains why.

We want to establish a carbon negative, ecologically regenerative, cooperatively managed, profitable community vegetable farm, as the foundation for a local food retail  network to support the broader development of a sustainable and resilient Welsh food  system.

In the long run, we hope to:
 * pioneer ecological management practices;
 * develop and manufacture innovative technology;
 * build a logistics and marketing network based on an online platform sales system;
 * host school visits and community open days;
 * train new entrants;
 * collaborate with local farmers, on both production and shared retail systems.

On a two-year time scale, the most we can do is lay the foundation for this institution and try to reduce our exposure to financial risk. This venture is a gamble for us personally. If we are able to galvanize a huge support community, win the support of Welsh  Government, and collaborate with 3rd sector organisations and the local farming  community, we stand to establish a world leading, not-for-profit institutional business  capable of pioneering sustainable and resilient food systems. However, without both mass community and Welsh Government support, this venture could easily cost us the  majority of our personal life savings.

The location and quality of this land makes it an ideal place to engage the general public, serve the urban market, train new entrants, collaborate with Cardiff University, and work  with the Welsh Government to build a resilient, sustainable Welsh food system. How we lay the foundations for an institution that will do that, without facing the prospect of  bankruptcy, on a 2-year lease, is a challenge that we would like your help with.

Who we are
Jonathan Hughes is a founder member and director of Tyddyn Teg Cooperative: a community supported vegetable farm in north Gwynedd. His 7 years’ experience in horticulture includes crop and business planning; teaching and consultation; and a range  of agricultural engineering and farm management roles. Prior to this, he has extensive experience in construction, including project management. He will be responsible for horticultural production, from infrastructure design and installation to training the  harvesting teams.

Holly Tomlinson is also a director of Tyddyn Teg and has spent 4 years managing the accounts, customer recruitment, communications and business planning for the farm. She is the Welsh Policy & Campaigns Coordinator for the Landworkers’ Alliance, a small scale farmers’ union. She has a graduate diploma in law and 7 years’ regulatory & policy experience in the renewable & community energy sector. She will be responsible for outreach, customer recruitment and community engagement as well as the financial and  legal aspects of the business.

The Economic Challenge of a Sustainable Horticulture Business on a 2 Year Lease
The economics of sustainability is entirely about extending the time scale over which the value of investments is calculated. A 2-year lease creates a strong economic incentive to exploit the land, and minimise investments in soil health, ecology, and infrastructure.

The irrecoverable capital investments we would need to commit into this land to achieve what we are proposing makes it an intimidating prospect. The rent we are offering reflects the fact that we are committed to sustainable land management, ecological restoration,  and high welfare job creation. When considering our offer, we ask you to take into account that we are committed to investing in the future, despite the fact that the lease makes it  economically challenging to do so. In doing so, we expect to increase the value of the property by significantly more that we pay in rent, restore the ecology, sequester carbon,  and lay the foundation for an institution that will make Wales a leader in the impending  transition to a sustainable food industry.

Organic conversion is a moderately expensive 2-year process of bringing land back to life. Compost production and cover cropping will cost, but the productivity of the land will be improved for decades to come. Additionally, we want to grow vegetables for sale to the local population. These crops are high value and both labour and capital intensive, and so we hope to create a significant number of jobs. To achieve this, we would need to invest in infrastructure and equipment, much of which would be completely irrecoverable, and even our movable assets will be a liability in the event that our lease is not renewed. Any way that you could give us some kind of security over capital investments, or the uplift in the value of the property, would make it a lot easier to invest, and attract capital  investment.

If you are in a position to retract this 2-year lease tender and offer an alternative for a longer period (a five-year rolling tenancy as a minimum) the reduction in risk and longer  period we would have to recover our investment means that we would be able to offer a  higher rent, and would be in a much stronger position to invest and raise capital. Regardless, our enclosed offer stands in relation to the tender as advertised.

How our proposal will help achieve Welsh Government priorities:

Climate & Nature
The Programme for Government rightly proposes to embed the climate and nature emergency into everything Welsh Government (WG) does. The Environment (Wales) Act 2016 puts an obligation on WG & other public bodies to improve biodiversity and the  Wellbeing of Future Generations Act (2015) includes resilience and global responsibility within its goals. The Agriculture (Wales) White Paper seeks to incentivise practices that enhance environmental benefits including habitat creation and soil carbon sequestration  and the Labour Manifesto 2021 promised to “integrate positive action for nature into more  of our economic activity.”

According to the IPCC agriculture and land use change is responsible for around a quarter of global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. When packaging, refrigeration and transportation and other activities are accounted for, the food system as a whole accounts  for over a third of emissions globally. According to the State of Nature 2019 Report, one in six wildlife species in Wales is threatened with extinction, with unsustainable land use  (due to agricultural policies that have encouraged production at the expense of the  environment) driving much of this.

By minimising cultivation, using extensive cover cropping, avoiding the use of synthetic fertilisers, herbicides or insecticides, we intend to increase the amount of carbon in the  soil in excess of the carbon emissions of our machinery. Ultimately, we hope to have electric machinery for both our farm vehicles and our delivery vehicles, and develop on  farm solar and wind, to further improve our carbon efficiency. On top of this, we hope to collaborate with Cardiff University to monitor different horticultural practices, and make evidence based decisions to continue to improve the health of our soil. These soil practices restore the soil life (microbiology, worms and insects) that are the foundation of  the food chain. This, combined with our diverse rotation, cover cropping, hedgerow management and some perennial cropping on the land that is not suitable for vegetables,  will support the birdlife, small animals, pollinators and general biodiversity of the site and  spillover to the surrounding area.

By using direct sales to local households and businesses in Cardiff and the Vale, we will be significantly reducing the GHG emissions associated with food transportation, storage  and retail.

Community Food Strategy & Local Supply Chains
The Labour Manifesto 2021 includes commitments to develop a Wales Community Food Strategy and support 1000 community growing sites. The Programme for Government also commits to the community food strategy and to delivering a green transformation  that “starts in our local communities, with a focus on local green spaces and locally-grown  sustainable food while …and avoiding waste.”

Meanwhile the Agriculture (Wales) White Paper seeks to support the development of short supply chains.

As noted, our primary market will be local households and businesses. We expect a significant proportion of our sales to be made through the open source online retail  platform, the Open Food Network. A principle advantage of this is that it will enable other local producers to sell produce and food products to our customers through our  administrative and logistical system. Ultimately, we hope to develop this network of producers to the point where we can provide a comprehensive weekly shop from local  producers available on a single online platform. We want local communities to be directly involved in growing on the land. We plan to make some land available for management by local community groups; allocate space  for allotments; hold regular volunteer days; and work with local schools and youth groups  to teach children and young people about food, farming and nature. We will also explore the potential to supply vegetables to local primary schools.

Sustainable Jobs
The Programme for Government commits to building an economy based on sustainable jobs; create 125,000 apprenticeships and offer a young person’s guarantee giving  everyone under 25 the offer of work, education, training, or self-employment.

Compared to other agricultural sectors, horticulture is high value and labour intensive. We know from our experience at our current farm and the wider sustainable farming network, that there is a high demand for traineeships in sustainable horticulture.

We ultimately aim to have in excess of 50 people in full time employment or long term training.

Tackling Food Insecurity
We would like to work with local food aid organisations to enable those who currently rely on food banks to access fresh local food. This is of particular concern when considering the challenges of poor nutrition and ultra-processed foods. Improving education and access to nutrient-dense fruit and vegetables is an integral aspect of public health for  tackling food poverty and malnutrition. As well as tackling immediate food insecurity, safeguarding the productivity of Welsh land is crucial to the food security of future  generations.

Short Term Plan
The benefit of appropriate infrastructure and equipment is principally labour efficiency. Our plan to attempt to make a step towards the institution we want to build without security to raise capital, is to compensate for inadequate infrastructure and equipment with mass  community labour. Essentially, we will focus all of our investment on crop establishment, and train and support volunteers and customers to harvest their own food. Think of it like a giant pick-your-own market garden. As a financially transparent not-for-profit organisation with democratic oversight committed to developing a sustainable food  system, we hope to build a community of people who will want to work together to build  this institution.

To make this work, we will need to spend the following before we can expect to make any sales:
 * £10,000 on a borehole;
 * £10,000 on a temporary building, that will serve as storage, workshop space, plant nursery, and sheltered space for lunch;
 * £10,000 on a toilet block, sewage treatment plant and soakaway;
 * £10,000 on a tractor;
 * £20,000 on a range of tractor implements;
 * £5,000 on seed;
 * £5,000 on potting compost;
 * £10,000 on the first year's rent;
 * £2,000 on insurance.

With a minimal off grid electrical capacity, diesel expenses, a vehicle to ferry people to and from the nearest bus stop, and a range of other miscellaneous expenses, we expect  to invest about £90,000 in the first 6 months, and be less than £150,000 down by the end  of the tenancy. If we are able to find 1000 customers willing to pay £5/week to be part of this pick your own market garden, for a total of 12 months over the 2 years, we would take £260,000. In this scenario, we expect to break even and cover our living costs.

We will organise customers harvesting for each other, lift sharing, and so on. We will also give people the opportunity to harvest and sell vegetables at a markup, either through  delivery or in farmers markets. That way, we will not need to have 1000 customers visit the farm every week. The people harvesting and selling our vegetables will not necessarily be volunteers, as we are aiming to take one third of the retail value of the  produce, so individuals can harvest and sell vegetables at a profit through a variety of  market streams.

Essentially, volunteer labour can be economically beneficial and valuable if it is carefully managed. Our strategy to make this business work is to focus our labour and capital on crop establishment and weed management, and focus the contribution of volunteer and  casual labour on harvesting, distribution and sales.

Long term plan
A box scheme farm will typically grow 80% of the annual content of 100 veg boxes per hectare, and charge about £15/week/box. At this rate, this land could supply 4000-5000 boxes at £780/year, yielding an annual turnover in excess of £3,000,000. Under that business model, the remaining 20% of the contents of those veg boxes would be purchased wholesale, predominantly in the spring.

In practice, we would not aim to sell all of our horticultural production through a box scheme. Instead, we would develop a diverse range of local markets, including farmers’ markets and independent food shops, sale to restaurants and catering companies, and an online shop front that would include the option of a box scheme subscription.

The box scheme would be about the least amount of revenue we would produce per unit area. The point of the example is to produce a low estimate of the retail value of the vegetables that could be produced on that land.

To grow and sell in excess of £3,000,000 worth of vegetables, we would expect to need in excess of 50 full time employees. We would also need to invest in excess of £1,000,000 in infrastructure and equipment, including: This business can; After we achieve what we have laid out in the short-term plan, we hope for the tremendous long term economic and social benefits of the institution described in our long term plan to be recognized by Welsh Government. If this is the case, we will either work towards a community share campaign to buy the land, or request a longer lease, that will enable us  to move forward with this project, depending on the preference of the Welsh Government.
 * delivery vehicles;
 * a cold storage warehouse with pallet crate handling equipment, bulk storage crates, and reusable delivery packaging;
 * a pack house with vegetable washing and portioning machinery;
 * a mechanical workshop with a range of engineering equipment;
 * tractors and an extensive range of specialist tractor implements;
 * 1500m2 of production polytunnel space;
 * a plant nursery, including automated soil blocking and sowing equipment, a germination chamber, heated and unheated plant growing space, automated  watering systems;
 * a composting system;
 * a canteen and toilet facilities to meet the statutory requirements of a workplace for the team;
 * all the appropriate services for all of those facilities.
 * pay for itself over a few years, then;
 * generate a profit to reinvest in the growth of the sustainable food system;
 * develop a marketing platform and logistical system through which other local sustainable producers can sell their products;
 * provide products and services to other local horticultural producers;
 * Sequester carbon and displace exported emissions.

Partners and Precedents
We do not intend to do this on our own, or to reinvent the wheel.

The business model we are proposing is somewhat unique in that it is designed around the 2 year lease on a large site where fences are about the extent of the existing infrastructure. However, there are a number of organisations around the UK that are following a similar approach. Cae Tan is likely the closest community supported agriculture organisation. Stroud Community Agriculture, The Community Farm, Bristol, Organic Lea, London, and The Kindling Trust,  Manchester, are other examples of organisations that are developing the models that inspire us,  as is our current CSA farm; Tyddyn Teg, Caernarfon. We also intend to work with a range of third sector organisations focused on resilient and sustainable food systems, including Social Farms and Gardens, the Organic Growers Alliance,  The Landworkers’ Alliance, The Open Food Network, Farm Hack, Food Sense Wales, and others. We also intend to work closely with Farming Connect, Cardiff University, and any other institution that we are able to develop a mutually beneficial relationship with.

Conclusion
As multiple ecological and environmental crises destabilise the global economy over the coming decades, the security of our food supply and the health of our soil and ecosystem is going to be  critical to the security of our population. Developing a resilient, ecologically sustainable, local food system is among the most critical strategic investments any nation can make at this historical  moment. The Cosmeston Community Farm project is an opportunity for the Welsh Government to develop or enable an institution to pioneer the land management practices, business models,  and technology that the world will need to develop in order for civilization to survive this century. It is in line with current Welsh Government land use priorities and the ambition of the internationally pioneering Wellbeing of Future Generations Act. We are asking you to talk to us, to discuss how we can accommodate each other and enable this institution to get established.